The Witcher 3 GOTY Edition

[v1rus]

God dammit, put some fucking spoilers there

 

[duchU]

Dijkstra is the best example how they can totally fuck up a great character in the end because they have this sick urge to put shades of gray everywhere.

 

[veskoandroid]

So far my tactics for gwent: always win first round. Trick opponent to invest at least 1-2 cards in second round, win 3rd. I allways use spies for second round, cards that restore discarded cards and decoys in second round, to bait opponent. Use horn card with that triple archer black monster card, or siege cards that are 6/8. They are the only numerous normal cards i have. I keep special 8-15 cards for last round if possible. My fav tactics are to have that northern kingdom medic restore card used in round 2/3 and take back discarded cards, then take medic card back with decoy and use it again.

The creepiest geralt moments are when he says i love you to t & y. Its so awkward and emotionless and actually looks desperate. Dunno if cdpr did it intentionally or accidentally but impressiin is actually believable, since he is mutant and is supposed to be emotionaly sterile.

Oh and is it just me or is y a bit not as pretty as t? Or maybe t is just my type and yenns arrogance and disregard for other people and consequences are obnoxious? Yep thats it. Plus ive looked at, worked with and f... socialized with triss first two games.

Oh yeah not scariest just creepiest. This game is excellent at fear factor. Especially with places atmosphere and sounds. Brrrrrrrrr!

 

[Doktor Best]

What voiceover language are you guys complaining about?

I think the german voiceover definitely has the problems you've mentioned (sentences dont "fit" together as the intonation lacks context), but the english VO is actually superb and way above industry standard.

I would place Last of Us a bit higher than Witcher but that game is much shorter and much more linear so its not really a fair contest. Other than that imho Witcher 3 blows everything else out of the water.

 

[v1rus]

What voiceover language are you guys complaining about?

I think the german voiceover definitely has the problems you've mentioned (sentences dont "fit" together as the intonation lacks context), but the english VO is actually superb and way above industry standard.

I would place Last of Us a bit higher than Witcher but that game is much shorter and much more linear so its not really a fair contest. Other than that imho Witcher 3 blows everything else out of the water.

We were talking about state of gaming VA in general - Witcher 3 does it rather well, indeed.

 

[Falksi]

TW3 bored me to tears, and as an overall game I found it lifeless, repetitive, predictable and soulless.
But I can't fault any of the acting, voice over work, or cutscenes. All the the cast were fucking nob on, and each character felt distinctive and carried weight.

 

[v1rus]

TW3 bored me to tears, and as an overall game I found it lifeless, repetitive, predictable and soulless..

Did you skip most of the PoI/side-quest/etc bullshit?

 

[Falksi]

Did you skip most of the PoI/side-quest/etc. bullshit?

Yes mate. Even the core game just felt like hours of running from point to point, through repetitive forests, doing the same quest-cutscene-run-senses-fight-cutscene sequence.
Out of what I've played so far (finished the main game), I'd say I enjoyed around 1/3 of it. Some of the "companion" side-quests were great, the other odd quest great too, but most were the same thing over & over, taking me through the same copy-paste "merchant-noticeboard-quest" villages over & over. The surrounding aesthetics may have varied slightly, but the core elements were usually the same, and the predictability killed it.
The lack of emotion & urgency in the main quest, plus the absolutely horrid "find x to find x to find x" structure really hurt the experience for me too. I truly tried to find what everyone else loves about it so much, and conclude that it's one for folk who like aesthetic detail, and detail in quest stories. If however like me you like games to engage you more & keep surprising you with fresh elements, it's flat as a pancake.

 

[v1rus]

Did you skip most of the PoI/side-quest/etc. bullshit?

Yes mate. Even the core game just felt like hours of running from point to point, through repetitive forests, doing the same quest-cutscene-run-senses-fight-cutscene sequence.
Out of what I've played so far (finished the main game), I'd say I enjoyed around 1/3 of it. Some of the "companion" side-quests were great, the other odd quest great too, but most were the same thing over & over, taking me through the same copy-paste "merchant-noticeboard-quest" villages over & over. The surrounding aesthetics may have varied slightly, but the core elements were usually the same, and the predictability killed it.
The lack of emotion & urgency in the main quest, plus the absolutely horrid "find x to find x to find x" structure really hurt the experience for me too. I truly tried to find what everyone else loves about it so much, and conclude that it's one for folk who like aesthetic detail, and detail in quest stories. If however like me you like games to engage you more & keep surprising you with fresh elements, it's flat as a pancake.

Sad to hear that I do understand the basic premise thats fuckign the experience up for you - as someone already said, the game is basically divided in fantasy Poland and fantasy Iceland. As such, I'm also not big on the exploration aspect, tho when it comes to the pure visual experience - the game indeed shines. Can't comment on the main quest yet, since I've yet to finish Novigrad, but for now, its been incredible.

I, personally, am currently panicking since I have no idea when's the next time I'm going to play something that engages me this much. Sure, there are bunch of oldies with great writing waiting for me, but the combination of incredible visuals of Witcher 3 and good writing seems unmatched. It seems that's the strongest aspect of the game - those characters both look like real people and talk like real people (or rather, like "real" people talk in works of fiction, but that's a different discussion), which amplifies the delivery amazingly.

 

[Falksi]

Sad to hear that I do understand the basic premise thats fuckign the experience up for you - as someone already said, the game is basically divided in fantasy Poland and fantasy Iceland. As such, I'm also not big on the exploration aspect, tho when it comes to the pure visual experience - the game indeed shines. Can't comment on the main quest yet, since I've yet to finish Novigrad, but for now, its been incredible.

I, personally, am currently panicking since I have no idea when's the next time I'm going to play something that engages me this much. Sure, there are bunch of oldies with great writing waiting there for me, but the combination of incredible visuals of Witcher 3 and good writing seems unmatched. It seems that's the strongest aspect of the game - those characters both look like real people and talk like real people (or rather, like "real" people talk in works of fiction, but that's a different discussion), which amplifies the delivery amazingly.

Yup, visually & conversationally it's superb. The all round aesthetics are fairly untouchable still. It's at the deeper, emotive/interactive level that it failed with for me.
The Bloody Baron quest is definitely the main quest's highlight, and prob the best quest in the game. I guess it's not too bad if you feel an attachment to Ciri too, but I was fairly "meh" about her.
Still fair play to those of you who enjoy it. I just fear that, similar to Skyrim's success breeding unnecessary open work inclusion in every game, TW3 doesn't enforce that, and also encourage devs to value less interactive elements (cutsscenes, aesthetics, dialogue) over more interactive elements (combat, choice, secrets, npcs etc). For a good game there needs to be a balance in both, and TW3 felt very GTA in a lot if respects.

 

[veskoandroid]

Fun trivia: call roach then run and watch him gallop behind you on minimap.

 

[veskoandroid]

Awful quiet here... Is everyone dead? Gotta say im disappointed in y/t third outcome. Cdpr could've handled it better. The scariest quest for me was that treasure hunt in novigrad under elects square. Actually not the quest in itself, but rather the note you rad at the end of it. Brrrrrrrr. What humans are capable of.... Kaer morhen battle was epicly epic! Misty isle quest was hilarious and red barons saddes since i unknowingly chose bad ending and deeply regreted it.

Wish w3 ad crafting system, so i could forge my own custom weapons and armors, make it expensive and you have balanced and satisfying AND rewarding experience. Sheesh. That elf blacksmith and woman armorer could easily mke kickass stuff. If someone mad a mod for it would be great.

 

[AwesomeButton]

The creepiest quest for me was the hearts of stone main quest.

 

[Quillon]

The creepiest one for me was an exclamation mark quest; old lady on the road wants something to do with her husband's grave, there was ring to place I think etc etc in the end we learn from her grand daughter that she was long dead and actually we conversed with her spirit...creepy as fuck.

 

[Sentinel]

That "haunted house" in Novigrad where you find Sara (the Godling) was pretty spooky I thought. Also the other quest, also in Novigrad I think, with the Golem trapped in the basement, I found the exploration before the golem kinda creepy.

 

[WhiskeyWolf]

When it comes to creepy I prefer the Tower on the island.

 

[Sentinel]

And the Hym one. Actually started sweating a bit when the game sent me to that dark basement and you see the shadow on the wall.

 

[veskoandroid]

Oh God the hym, yeah that was scariest! But yeah, half the quests are ruined by the game spoiling too much.

 

[Falksi]

The hym was definitely one of the most original, & best, quests for sure.
The big trouble with such a game is that you soon become very familiar with so called mysterious/scary monsters, and thus they lose all impact.
It's one if the reason the Hym remains so stand out, because it was a one off. And also one of the reasons why the game would have been far better if it had been smaller, with less quests but more quality.

 

[AwesomeButton]

The creepiest one for me was an exclamation mark quest; old lady on the road wants something to do with her husband's grave, there was ring to place I think etc etc in the end we learn from her grand daughter that she was long dead and actually we conversed with her spirit...creepy as fuck.

I remember that one. Made me feel a bit of a silly, but didn't creep me out that much. I was more like "Oh well, that's ghosts for you!" Kind of like Geralt's reaction, if I remember right.

That "haunted house" in Novigrad where you find Sara (the Godling) was pretty spooky I thought. Also the other quest, also in Novigrad I think, with the Golem trapped in the basement, I found the exploration before the golem kinda creepy.

This one I would have pointed to, before I played the hearts of stone finale in the house. I guess it has to do with all the screeching ambient sounds. Ambient sounds are a major contributor when it comes to making an environment feel creepy.

When it comes to creepy I prefer the Tower on the island.

Or this one.

The Hym quest was creepy too, especially the way you had to solve it. Raised the emotions alright.

 

[veskoandroid]

Hahaha this quest the tower outta nowheres is also hilarious few great lauhs! Oh and "white wolven" armor is soooooo cool to wear. Love it.

Finally finished main quest. Final battle was not as epic as kaer mohren was.

 

[WhiskeyWolf]

 

[RK47]

no

 

[MoonlitKnight]

Funny they call TW3 a detective game because it ripped off batman arkham's detective mode for its 'brilliant' quest design

 

[WhiskeyWolf]

That's not what the video is about.